SUNZ APRIL 2024 WAY2GO MAGAZINE

Last year, I had the privilege of helping host Rachel Turner in Auckland and Wellington. If her name is unfamiliar to you, try looking up Parenting for Faith as a start. Rachel is a very gifted speaker—thought provoking and entertaining, and usually both at the same time!

Rachel often talks about the challenge—and enlightenment— she found in the following verses:

Listen, Israel! The LORD our God is the only true God! So, love the LORD your God with all your heart, soul, and strength. Memorize his laws and tell them to your children over and over again. Talk about them all the time, whether you're at home or walking along the road or going to bed at night or getting up in the morning. Write down copies and tie them to your wrists and foreheads to help you obey them. Write these laws on the door frames of your homes and on your town gates.—Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (CEV)

When we reflect on this passage, we can see that the centre of a child’s discipleship is not what happens on a Sunday morning, or mid-week group, but in the home. Rachel’s catch phrase is “the ordinary, everyday, boring bits of life.”

What does it mean to bring the Bible into the ordinary, everyday, boring bits of our lives? Well, first, we need to know the Bible ourselves. Then we can share this with our families. In this edition of the WAY2GO magazine we will use Parenting for Faith’s 5 Key Tools to help us bring the Bible into the everyday lives of our children and families.

Liz Eichler Children and Families Team Leader, SUNZ

The 5 Key Tools TO RAISING GOD-CONNECTED

KIDS

CREATE WINDOWS

– or glimpses into what your relationship with God looks like. When it comes to Bible reading, here is a challenge for you: when you’re reading your Bible on your phone, or table, or other screen, how does your family know what you’re reading?

a. Grab an actual Bible, have it on the coffee table, read it yourself while others are around.

b. We can share where we see God in a situation by talking aloud, and making connections with Bible stories you know.

c. Invite them to do ‘God things’ alongside you—read the story together, borrow someone’s picture Bible or teenage version for a week, get a range of translations and compare them.

FRAMING

– showing how God works so a picture of who he is and what he is doing gradually develops.

a. Explore their questions when reading the Bible.

b. Point things out that occur to you when reading the Bible. This could be where else in the Gospels the story is also told, or links between themes. This depends on the age of your children.

c. Be led by their interests – e.g. if they are interested in animals, find stories featuring animals (like Noah’s ark), if they like fishing a focus on the disciples and their jobs.

UNWINDING

– growing a balanced and healthy view of God. Unwinding is the process of spotting and gently correcting misconceptions about God.

a. Try exploring Bible stories that show a different side of God’s character.

b. Ask which Bible stories they like and why.

c. Notice what they say and ask them to tell you more about it. Share your own relationship with God.

CHAT AND CATCH

– the prayer tool: it’s a two-way relationship with God.

a. Chatting encourages children to use their own words when communicating with God. Knowing others struggle with prayer is helpful.

b. Share an example of you ‘catch’ing God speaking to you through a Bible passage.

c. When you read the Bible together, ask “is there something we can ‘catch’ from this, something God might be wanting to say to us?”

SURFING THE WAVES

– come alongside and ride the waves as your children try different things.

a. Help them find God in what’s happening in their lives. Talk about your own waves of change.

b. Explore different ways of reading the Bible – try an app, listen to a podcast, follow the Lectionary.

c. Be open to new things, follow their lead, life is a journey.

For more on these Tools, or to learn more about Parenting for Faith, go to www.parentingforfaith.brf.org.uk/

This newly illustrated collection of more than 120 Bible stories presents the truths of the whole Bible in a way that is understandable for all of us. Each story has 3-4 comprehension questions to help easily grasp Biblical concepts. | $35 Resources

EVERYONE A CHILD SHOULD KNOW

It’s never too early to introduce the next generation to some of the heroes of faith. In this book, meet 52 Christian men and women from all walks of life who wanted to live for their friend Jesus. There are missionaries, martyrs, writers, reformers, politicians, and poets. Their stories are exciting and inspiring and show that any of Jesus’ friends can do remarkable things for him. | $18

BIBLE STORIES EVERY CHILD SHOULD KNOW

LOOKING FOR MORE RESOURCES AND INSPIRATION?

Check out our SUNZ Children and Families blogspot and Breakthrough websites childrenandfamiliesnz.blogspot.com | sunzbreakthrough.org.nz